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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Christine Hart is a Canadian author who writes New Adult, which is a fairly new field, And she lives in one of my favorite places. I love British Columbia. Our family spent time in Vancouver when my wasband was filming Who's Harry Crumb and People Across the Lake. There were so many child oriented adventure in the city. On weekends we left the city to explore. But I digress. Christine, please tell us a little about yourself.

This
one is always hard to answer. Should I talk about where I came from (Edmonton
and BC’s Okanagan Valley) or should I tell everyone about my start in
non-fiction writing articles, ads, and press releases?

It’s
probably more interesting if I skip to right now. I live on the West Coast,
specifically Langley, BC. I work from home with two adorable and active
toddlers underfoot – which functions exactly like you think it does (99%
#nightwriting).

At the
moment, I’m working tirelessly to get the word out about my new Paranormal Romance trilogy The Variant Conspiracy.

Book 1, In Irina’s Cards came out May 4th
of this year. Book 2, The Compendium
was just released July 13th. And Book 3, Terra Nova comes out September 14th. It’s been a wild
year so far and I can’t wait to share the rest of this story!

The
Compendium is the second book of a paranormal sci-fi romance trilogy
for new adults. It’s called The Variant
Conspiracy. In Book 1, In Irina’s
Cards, my heroine uncovers a plot to essentially remake the world resulting
in a planet uninhabitable for anyone but the genetic ‘variants’ who are part of
her newfound subculture. Book 2 takes the story on the road as my heroine and
her friends pursue a terrifying threat to life as we know it.

Here’s the blurb for The Compendium:

Irina and her renegade variant friends are scrambling to
pick up the trail of their former employer, Ivan, and his globally catastrophic
scheme. After strategically sharing their story with the media, the group heads
south from Vancouver to Seattle hoping to recruit more experienced – and lethal
– variants to their cause.

Their attention develops a laser focus on an engineered
disaster mere days ahead of them. Ivan is using what staff and resources remain
of Innoviro Industries to set off a violent earthquake in San Francisco. While
they fight to stop the earthquake, Irina pushes the love of her life Jonah as
far away as she can, trying to keep his unstable genetic degradation in check.

Irina’s friends think they’ve seen the worst that
Innoviro could bring forth by the time they reach a secret facility in the
Mojave Desert. As they near the property, the group uncovers a horror none of
them had ever imagined.

What do you
think makes a good story?

Above
all, I think a story needs a rollercoaster plot. From there, relatable and
likeable characters are critical, along with villains you love to hate. When I
shape my story ideas – both novels and shorts – I think about the stories and
characters from my favourite authors that really stuck with me over the years.
Who are those favourite authors? To name just a few, I’ll start with
contemporary authors like Neil Gaiman, Charlaine Harris, Suzanne Collins, J.K.
Rowling, and Stephen King. Going back a bit farther, I love John Wyndham, Ray
Bradbury, J.R.R. Tolkien, and H.P. Lovecraft. Although my personal list of
amazing writers is miles longer, those are the really recognizable names that
top my picks for master story-crafters.

What motivated you to start writing fiction?

Writing fiction wasn’t such a huge leap
for me. I’ve been a writer most of my adult life. I started out publishing in
student newspapers at the University of Victoria and working for different
university offices while completing my BA in English and Professional Writing. Once
I started taking writing courses, I figured out pretty quickly that journalism
wasn’t my thing, so I focused on communications instead and as a result I’ve
worked a variety of jobs in the corporate world. But it wasn’t fulfilling. I
loved to write, but something was missing.

I finally gave fiction a try in my
mid-twenties, experimenting with children’s picture books and short stories
before I hit my stride writing young adult. My first few novel ideas started as
nostalgia for growing up in the Okanagan. My YA titles mostly explored my
personal experiences and stories from the periphery of my life.

When developing The Variant Conspiracy, I realized some of the themes and plots I
wanted to explore were more mature than most young adult publishers would
tackle. I started considering the new adult market. In Canada the ‘new adult’
category is still being incorporated into the publishing landscape, so the
opportunities up here are slim. Fortunately I found an amazing home for The Variant Conspiracy at NY-based Soul
Mate Publishing.

How do you motivate yourself when inspiration
takes a vacation?

I have an interesting relationship with
writer’s block. I simply don’t allow it. I push myself to write, even if it
isn’t flowing or thrilling me in the moment. If I’m going to get a chapter done
on a particular day, that’s what happens. I’ve written with an infant strapped
to my chest. I’ve written bleary-eyed until midnight. When it comes to
deadlines, even those I set for myself, I’m my own hardest taskmaster.

What is your favorite pastime, other than
writing?

When
I’m not working, writing fiction, or chasing children, I break stuff to make
stuff. I take apart watches, computers, electronics, and vintage jewelry to
create new wearable art. It sounds odd and it is, but I’ve had so much fun
turning trash into treasure, I don’t see myself stopping any time soon. My Etsy
alter-ego is Sleepless Storyteller, a steampunk and industrial obsessed
butterfly enthusiast.